Grab your sunnies, pour out the Pimms… Summer is here!
To mark the beginning of the summer months there is plenty of things to see and do, that won’t necessarily cost you anything! The next two months are jam packed with things to do with Bunac but if you wanted to go about things independently then there are still plenty of opportunities to get out and about!
Read on for Bunac’s trips…
Bath & Stonehenge! - Saturday 14th June
Mixed in with our regular bi-weekly pub meets we’ve got a few trips up our sleeve. On Saturday 14th June, we’ll be heading out to Bath and Stonehenge. The first stop will be at the iconic pile of rocks that are believed to have been there for the last 5000 years. The Roman and Georgian City of Bath is the home to the famous Roman Baths, a beautiful cathedral and some great shopping! The trip costs a bargain £22 which includes entrance to Stonehenge and departs from International Students House at 8.30am.
Giddy up in Wales! - Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th June
 The end of June we’ll be heading to the Brecon Beacons in Wales for some horse riding and sightseeing. The trip costs £130 which includes overnight accommodation with breakfast, coach transport and horse riding with instructors. The horse riding is the highlight of the trip but we will also be staying overnight in Cardiff, the capital of Wales so another chance to tick a city to see off the list!
We leave 8am on Saturday 28th and arrive back on Sunday night at approximately 9pm depending on traffic. This is a great chance to really enjoy some beautiful summer weather (hopefully!) with some stunning welsh scenery!
Party! Independence Day - Friday 4th July
 July is a highly anticipated month as it our annual 4th July cruise on the Thames! Independence Day is (unsurprisingly) not usually celebrated here in
the UK, so at BUNAC we use it as a good excuse to throw a big party!! In London we organise an annual cruise on the Thames, on a boat that holds 350 people!! It’s always a great night so don’t miss out. Tickets for the cruise are £12 and are available NOW from BUNAC. All nationalities are welcome and you can invite your non-BUNAC friends if you wish. We depart from Tower Pier at 7.30pm and arrive back at 11pm. There are two bars on the boat and we’ll take in many of London’s sights along the way.
We’ll have a DJ that will be playing some classic tunes. On the night we will be giving away lots of free trips from Contiki, Busabout and Haggis in our charity raffle. Raffle tickets are purchased on the night for £1 each and all proceeds will go to a charity.
For those of you up in Scotland there will be a get together in Edinburgh to celebrate Independence Day. Please contact the Edinburgh office for more details.
Prize up for grabs!
We have 2 tickets for the July 4th Thames cruise up for grabs! To have a chance to win all you need to do is email us with your contact details along with a social trip idea that you would like to see Bunac organise. You never know you might just see it on a future social programme!
‘Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo’ - Thursday 17th July
The New Shakespeare Company will be performing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Set in beautiful surroundings in the middle of the park, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better location for Shakespeare! It is a very relaxed theatre and you can bring along your own food, wine or beers. Tickets are £21 and you need to book in advance with Bunac. The performance starts at 8pm. If it is a nice evening we will be having a picnic in the park before the performance starts so call us nearer the time to find out where we’ll be!
If you can’t make it to that production then log on to www.openairtheatre.org to see when they are next performing as it’s really something not to be missed!
Paris! Saturday 26th – Monday 28th July
 The last weekend in July we’ll be heading over to the beautiful and romantic city of Paris. If you haven’t found a certain someone whilst you’ve been here to whisk you away for the weekend then why not come with us! We’ll be taking the Eurostar from the centre of London to the centre of Paris all in just over 2 hours. The trip will cost £149 and will include transport to Paris by Eurostar, 2 nights hostel accommodation with breakfasts & lunch on Sunday, real French guides to show us around Paris, metro tickets for travel while in Paris and a trip to the Palace of Versailles on the Sunday.
Our full social diary can always be viewed at our events website which is www.bunac.org/events. It is regularly updated and shows all upcoming events for both the London and Edinburgh offices (including ticket availability), as well as photos from previous pub meets and trips. You can book all BUNAC events over the phone with a credit/debit card if it is difficult for you to make it to the office to pay in person. Please ask BUNAC staff if you would like any further information about any of our events.
 Glastonbury Festival – Friday 27th – Sunday 29th June
Glastonbury is home to one of the most famous and largest annual music festivals in the world. Situated just outside the town of Glastonbury in South West England, the festival site covers an area of about 7 square miles. Within this area it has different tents and stages set up with every possible type of music. The different people that music festivals draw are an experience in itself. This year the line up includes bands such as The Fratellis, Editors, KT Tunstall, The Feeling and much much more!
A weekend ticket costs £155 which includes access to the camping fields. Look on www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk for more information. Tickets are going thick and fast so if you’re interested then log on to their website asap!
New balls please! Wimbledon – 23rd June – 6th July
Since 1877, the annual tennis tournament has developed from a low-key event to a world famous tournament drawing in thousands of spectators. The tournament lasts for two weeks and plays host to the worlds top tennis players.There are 19 different courts, the better the player the lower the court number so if they’re really good they’ll be playing on Centre Court or No.1 court!
 Tickets are quite hard to come by and can be expensive but if you are still keen to see some of the best tennis players in the world your only chance of getting tickets is to get queuing! The public have been known to camp out overnight just to get the first spot in the queue the next day. There are 500 tickets that are put on sale everyday at the turnstiles for centre, No.1 and No.2 courts. There are also 6000 ground tickets sold everyday for entry into the Grounds including standing room in courts 2-19. The grounds are open 10:30am until 10:00pm. Entry just into the grounds is still worthwhile, anyone that didn’t get courtside tickets can sit on a bank and watch the big screen and still soak up the atmosphere. If you decide to go then you must sample a very traditional Wimbledon delight, strawberries and cream! Look on www.wimbledon.org for more information.
Cricket
A very traditional English sport and something to experience at least once whilst you’re here! If the sport itself doesn’t really take your fancy then go along for the atmosphere if nothing else. Throughout June there are England v New Zealand one-day competitions that are taking place all over the UK.
 Sunday 15 June, Riverside (Chester)
Wednesday 18 June, Edgbaston
Saturday 21 June, Bristol
Wednesday 25 June, The Oval
Saturday 28 June, Lord's
So grab some friends, take a picnic and head along to a cricket ground near you! Look on www.ecb.co.uk for more information.
Canada Day – Monday 30th June – Tuesday 1st July
To all you Canadians out there, you don’t need to worry we celebrate Canada day here too! To those of you non-Canadians, Canada Day celebrates the day
that Canada was established as a new federation with its own constitution. The evening of the 30th, Trafalgar Square will be taken over with Canadian artists playing such as Sam Roberts Band, Johnny Reid and Justin Nozuka and its all FREE!
Bars and cafes will be selling Canadian food and drink so if you’ve been missing out on your Poutine then you’ll be able to get your fix here! On the actual day, 1st July there are plenty of things to see and do including a street hockey tournament! For more information go on to www.canadadaylondon.com.
BP Summer Screens 2008 – 1st June, 3rd & 16th July
A perfect way to spend a summers evening and the best thing about it, it’s FREE! The main stage of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden is broadcasted on to huge screens all over the UK. So for those of you who want a cheap night out but still want to experience world-class productions of the opera and ballet, then this is it!
 There are three productions, look on www.roh.org.uk/bp to find out where in the UK they are being broadcasted.
1st June - 3pm - Romeo and Juliet ballet
3rd July - 6pm - Don Carlo opera
16th July - 7pm – The Marriage of Figaro opera
So don’t just sit around catching rays, you can do that anywhere! If you’re stuck for what to do then look on these websites for some ideas:
www.visitbritain.co.uk
www.visitlondon.com
www.viewlondon.co.uk
www.londontown.com |
Scottish News
Summer days in Edinburgh
 Well it’s approaching that time of year again when Festival Fever hits Edinburgh! Edinburgh is a lovely place to spend the summer. If you are here in Edinburgh from now until the end of August, you’ll be able to take advantage of its many festivals, great parks and open spaces it is a great city to hang-out in.
First up between 29th May and 1st June is the Taste of Edinburgh festival as well as having the opportunity to sample taster dishes from 20 of Edinburgh’s top restaurants, festival goers will be able to eat and drink from up to 100 speciality food and drink suppliers. Tickets cost £12 per day. Visit www.channel4.com/taste for more information.
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Did you know that E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future both premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival?!
To celebrate the upcoming film festival four classic movies will be shown, for free, on a big screen in the Mound Precinct. On the 13th and 14th June you can see Back to the Future, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Strictly Ballroom and Scottish feel-good classic Local Hero under the stars. No need to book you just need to turn up (with a jumper!).
Two months earlier than usual, the 62nd Annual Edinburgh International Film Festival takes place this year between 18th - 29th June with Gala premiere’s of The Edge of Love starring Keira Knightly and Sienna Miller and Disney Pixar’s WALL.E. EIFF patron Sir Sean Connery has already promised to attend, so take advantage of your chance to see some new and unusual films that you might never get the opportunity to see anywhere else.
For more information on the Edinburgh Film Festival please visit: www.edfilmfest.org.uk
Edinburgh Festival
The population of Edinburgh literally triples during August when people travel from far and wide to experience the largest arts festival in the world. To call it The Edinburgh Festival is sometimes misleading as it is actually made up of several festivals: The Book, The International, The Jazz and Blues, The Fringe, Peace, and The Military Tattoo. So there will definitely be something for
everyone to enjoy. Many BUNAC participants are able to get employment (either paid or voluntary) at one of the festivals doing a variety of jobs such as tickets sales, performance promoters and bar & waiting positions at festival venues. A few participants have even performed in shows! For application details visit www.edinburgh-festivals.com and click on the festival you’d like to work in. Alternatively ask BUNAC for an information sheet regarding employment in the festival.
If you are thinking of coming to Edinburgh during the festival then it’s best to get organised now as accommodation get booked up early, and it is not recommended that you arrive in Edinburgh without pre-arranged accommodation. Why not try www.hoppo.com, www.scotlandstophostels.com , www.brodieshostels.co.uk, www.syha.org.uk, www.smartcityhostel.com.
Bank Mail
Remember that BUNAC can forward your bank mail to you for free, you just need to let us know your address and that you would like us to forward your bank mail. You can do this on our website www.bunac.org/incoming and fill in the ‘change your address/contact details’ section (don’t forget to tick the box for bank mail forwarding!).
Report Cards
Please remember that you need to fill out your report cards to keep BUNAC up to date with your details. Your 2nd report card needs to be completed once you have a job and a place to live and your 3rd report card needs to be filled out when you have finished on the programme. You can complete your report cards quickly and easily online at our website www.bunac.org/incoming.
Remember that BUNAC staff are always happy to help you with any problems or questions. Call (020) 7251 3472 or (0131) 558 9313 if you are in Scotland.
Incoming Programmes, BUNAC, 16 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0QH wib@bunac.org.uk
BUNAC
Tel: (020) 7251 3472
E-mail: enquiries@bunac.org.uk
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